Abstract
Objective: To study the effects of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) on the induction of long-term potentiation (LTP) in developing rat visual cortical slices. Methods: Field potentials recorded from layer II/III induced by layer IV stimulation in rat visual cortical slices were examined. LTP was induced by tetanus in the slices on the postnatal 2, 3 and 5-week rats. The LTP incidences and the effects of GABA on them in different developmental stages were compared. Results: LTP incidence at postnatal week 5 was significantly lower than that in other two groups. GABAA receptor antagonist picrotoxin could reverse this tendency, but had no effects on the LTP induction at the early postnatal age. Conclusion: In visual cortex, GABA has inhibitory effects on the LTP induction only after the end of critical period and has no any facilitatory effects on the LTP induction before the developmental critical period.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 313-315 |
| Number of pages | 3 |
| Journal | Journal of Xi'an Jiaotong University (Medical Sciences) |
| Volume | 25 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| State | Published - Aug 2004 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Gamma-aminobutyric acid
- Long-term potentiation
- Visual cortex
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Clinical Biochemistry